Web links for 10th January 2012

From End Child Poverty, a map showing the proportion of children who are poor across the UK, with a breakdown for local authorities and parliamentary constituencies. In Bethnal Green and Bow, 51% of children are poor; in Nick Clegg’s Sheffield Hallam, just 5%.

The British Chambers of Commerce say their survey’s results are “disappointing” and “give cause for concern”. Results are not as bad as during the depths of the recession, but “the improvement seen in recent years has mostly been wiped out”.The balance for manufacturing home orders was -13%, the worst since Q2 2009. For services it was -9%, the worst since Q3 2009. The balance for manufacturing export orders was positive – +5% – but this was the weakest level since Q3 2009. The balance for service export orders was -1%. Manufacturing employment expectations fell to -8%, the worst since Q2 2009. For services the figure was +2%, the lowest since Q3 2010. Investment intentions are particularly important for recovery hopes and the manufacturing investment balance fell to +5%, the lowest level since Q1 2010. For service firms the balance rose 1 point, to +2%, “still a very weak level.”